


Staking Claims

by listerinezero



Category: X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014) - Fandom, X-Men: First Class (2011) - Fandom
Genre: Ableist Language, Alpha Charles, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Alternate Universe - Western, Erik is Crushing Harder than a 12-year Old Girl, Huddling For Warmth, M/M, Omega Erik, Racism, Sexism, Smitten Erik, Virgin Erik
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-05-04
Updated: 2016-03-23
Packaged: 2018-03-28 22:56:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 15,698
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3872869
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/listerinezero/pseuds/listerinezero
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Charles Xavier has just arrived in the frontier province of Genosha, where he hopes to find good fortune and a new life. Instead he meets Erik Lehnsherr, an omega general in the local militia, whose family land is under threat. Together they travel across the country in search of land, copper, and the freedom to live their lives as they please.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you, turtletotem!!

**Prologue**

Coals burned in a small stove in the prison's entryway, but the temperature dropped rapidly as they left the guards’ alcove and walked the corridors of the omegas' prison. Governor Frost buckled her white fur coat tighter around her body and pulled her hat down over her forehead. She had no intention of shivering in front a prison full of omega traitors.

Glancing down her nose at masses of huddled inmates crowded in their cells, Emma couldn't imagine what the guards possibly could have found in this pathetic group that would warrant her personal attention.

“This had better be good,” she told the guard leading her through the prison.

The guard turned back towards her and grinned.

The corridor became narrower and colder as they continued. Under other circumstances, Emma might have felt sorry for the prisoners. They wore nothing more than a thin overshirt to protect them from the cold, and the cells were packed tighter than Kingdom law typically allowed. They'd known that dozens of Genoshan rebels had survived the assault, but no one could have guessed how many omegas numbered among the militia.

“Just up here, Your Excellency,” the guard told her, and directed her to the final cell in the corridor.

Upon first glance, the cell appeared to be empty, but General Lehnsherr stepped forward from the shadowed corner. Like the rest of the prisoners they'd passed, he wore nothing beneath the oversized standard-issue cotton shirt, which hung down to his knees. Still, he stood in front of Emma as though he wore armor, his bearded chin held high, his glare as firm as it had been in battle.

Emma hid her surprise at finding him there. “Good morning, General Lehnsherr,” she said.

The General said something that Emma could only assume was scathing in his native Genoshan.

She replied with a condescending quirk of her brow, then turned to the guard. “You've moved him to the omega prison? Why?”

The guard smirked. “General Lehnsherr  _is_  an omega, Your Excellency.”

This surprise Emma could not hide. “No. He can't be.” She looked the General up and down. He didn't look like any omega she'd ever met, with his full beard and curling hair. Though he was attractively slender, he was also rather muscular and quite tall: two traits that no one from the Capital associated with omega men.

That didn’t mean much, Emma reminded herself. Genoshans in general were rather tall. It had been something of a shock to the soldiers they’d brought with them from the Capital - they’d been told that they’d be bringing true civilization to poor barbarians, only to find that the barbarians were taller, healthier, and better looking than most of them, and unlike them, still had all their teeth.

“How can you be sure?” she asked the guard.

“Stick an omega in a cell with five or six alphas and it starts to become obvious after a day or two,” said the guard. “They were all over him, Your Excellency. Flirting with him, fighting over him, trying to touch him. You’d think he was the Belle of the Ball.”

At that, Emma let out a burst of surprised laughter, and though the General had not moved a muscle, his cheeks began to flush.

The guard continued, “Genoshan society is rather... liberal when it comes to the orientations, Your Excellency. They don't consider it very much except when it comes to mating. All the rest of the Genoshan militia knew he was an omega, apparently, but damned if any of us did.”

“Yes, it is a very primitive culture,” Emma said, grinning at the General through the jail cell bars. “Well, look at you! The Genoshan Joan of Arc. Don't worry, General. In a few generations, you'll be nothing but a Kingdom fairy tale.”

The General shouted something in Genoshan, but Emma ignored him and marched back the way she came. “I'll need you to arrange transport for him,” she told the guard. “He'll make a lovely welcome gift for the Duke.”

 

**Chapter One**

The view from Charles' private quarters was unparalleled anywhere else in Meadowlark, the capital of the newly incorporated province of Genosha. The state house was situated at the highest point in the frontier’s largest village, overlooking the narrow streets in the valley below and the snow-capped mountains beyond. Charles wondered if the town looked so still because the people were still recovering from the recent offensive or just because it was so damned cold. The late-season snowstorm of earlier that day had slowed into picturesque flurries, dusting the landscape in a fresh coat of shimmering white snow. Charles drew open the curtains on each of the room’s floor to ceiling windows, hoping to bring a little sunshine into the room, and tried to remember that spring was on its way.

Charles wished he still had his blue sweater, the fine one he'd purchased abroad. Unfortunately, like most everything else that was dear to him, it was long gone. In the weeks before he left for Genosha, he quietly sold off all but the most essential of his possessions in order to purchase his ticket west. Though he did it without sentiment, now that he was in Meadowlark and feeling a bit out of sorts, Charles really wished he'd brought along a few more familiar things. He used to scoff at men who led wagon trains full of personal nonsense across the continent. He called them frivolous and decadent in the worst way. Now, thinking of his warm blue sweater, Charles was starting to understand the impulse.

“Your Grace, you have a visitor,” said a servant from the doorway.

Charles ran a hand over his beard and grabbed his jacket, the third piece of his suit, from the back of a chair. “Send them in,” Charles told him as he put it on, with a casual glance at his reflection in the window. “And please throw a few more logs onto the fire, if you don't mind. It's a bit cold in here.” 

The servant left with a nod, and a moment later led Governor Emma Frost, hat in hand, into Charles' front room. She was followed by a prisoner: a tall man with wavy hair and a beard who’d been handcuffed and wore nothing but a rag. He was striking. Despite the torn prison shirt and bare feet, he was strong and noble in his bearing - head held high, eyes bright; attempting confidence, but radiating anger and shame.

“Good afternoon, Governor Frost,” Charles greeted her with a bow. He also gave a small nod to the man, eager for Emma to introduce him. She didn't, and the man clearly had no idea how he was supposed to respond. In the end he returned the nod and averted his eyes.

An omega then. Charles was surprised.

“Kneel,” Governor Frost ordered the omega. As the man's knees hit the bear skin rug, the shame in his face overwhelmed the anger.

“Good to see you, Your Grace,” said Governor Frost. “I hope you're settling in well. How are you finding Meadowlark?”

As they spoke, the servant returned with the requested wood for the enormous fireplace. He also went around the room and shut all the curtains to keep the heat in. Charles sighed. So much for the sunshine.

“Very well, thank you,” he answered Frost. “I am extremely grateful for the hospitality, especially on such short notice.”

“You are Brian Xavier’s son. We could hardly turn you away.” A smirk curled Governor Frost's lips. “I’ve even brought you a welcome gift. A little something to keep you warm at night.” She ran her fingers through the omega's thick hair. The gesture reminded Charles of the way his father used to pet their family dog. “Allow me to introduce Erik Lehnsherr, General in Genosha's militia, and a Genoshan omega.”

If the Governor's intent was to impress, she'd hit the mark. “A militia general and an omega?” Charles asked him directly. “That's a rare combination.”

Lehnsherr only ducked his head in response, and Governor Frost appeared pleased by his behavior. Charles half expected her to offer him a liver snap. “I think he will make you an excellent companion for tonight's gala,” she told him.

Charles started. “Companion for whom? For me?”

“Of course, Your Grace.”

Charles glanced at the omega, Lehnsherr. He looked as though he’d have coiled in on himself like a rattlesnake if only he could.

“I’m sorry,” said Charles, “but I was under the impression that we were annexing Genosha. How exactly would we win over the citizens if we paraded their general around like a prized poodle?”

Frost let a flicker of amusement slip through her armor. “‘Win over the citizens’? Your Grace, I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but this annexation was not put to a vote. We have already annexed the Genosha Territory by force, and having their general on a visiting Duke’s arm will send a very clear message as to just who is in charge now.”

“A bit barbaric, don’t you think?”

“The Kingdom is proud to bring traditional values to the people of Genosha,” she parroted the party line with a vapid smile.

“Whose traditional values are we talking about?” he asked. “That’s not how my father raised me. Nor is it the traditional local culture of Genosha. It’s clearly not how this man was raised,” he added, gesturing towards Lehnsherr. “Why, exactly, are we supporting and furthering the traditions of the most - pardon me for saying so, but - backwards provinces of the Kingdom?”

“I hope you’ll pardon  _me_  for saying so, Your Grace, but most of the Kingdom’s citizens are rural, hardworking people. We are here to bring the Kingdom to Genosha, and with it, its culture and values.”

Charles feigned surprise. “That’s funny. I thought we were here because we were interested in acquiring their copper mines.”

“I admire your dedication to your principles, Your Grace,” Governor Frost snapped. “However, you have only been in Genosha for two days, and I would advise you to save your radicalism until after you’ve met a few people other than myself and your borrowed manservant."

Charles yielded, remembering that he had nowhere else to go and little money left to speak of, and bowed his head in assent.  

Governor Frost's anger receded. "For tonight, I suggest you take my advice and bring Lehnsherr to tonight’s gala as your omega. It’s improper for you to come alone, and there is no one else to offer you anyway.” She gave Lehnsherr a glance and added, “And I will have the staff clean him up a bit. You won’t impress anyone with a shaggy omega, no matter who he is.”

“Of course, Your Excellency.”

“Good.” Governor Frost put on her hat and pulled her white gloves out of her pockets as she headed for the door. Lehnsherr started to follow, but with a snap and a sharp gesture, he was back on his knees, eyes looking only to those of the bear he kneeled on.

“There will be a lot of local people coming to greet you tonight, Your Grace, and they’re all hoping for your patronage,” she said as she opened the door to leave. “I do hope you’ll find some worthy investments. There’s ample opportunity out here for a young man of means such as yourself." She touched the brim of her hat in farewell. "See you tonight.”

For several minutes after she had gone, Charles stared at the back of the door in wide-eyed surprise. Charles had been pleasantly surprised when the state house offered Brian Xavier's son room and board, but he'd forgotten to ask what they expected in return. Of course: they were hoping he’d dump some money into the local economy. Unfortunately for them, Charles had no money left to offer.

So much for a free meal, he thought with a shrug. He would just have to be polite and dodge any requests for money until he could get out of Meadowlark. That was fine - he’d been doing that in the Capital for months before he left.

As Charles was lost in thought, Lehnsherr was still on his knees.

“You may sit,” Charles told Lehnsherr when he realized. Lehnsherr hesitated at first, then eased himself onto the worn leather sofa. Charles sat in the cowhide armchair opposite, pleasantly surprised that Lehnsherr understood him. “Do you speak English?” he asked.

Lehnsherr shook his head, no.

“But you understood the question,” Charles noted. “I think you understand more than you think you do.” When Lehnsherr’s only response was a glare, Charles held his hands in the air. “I am here in peace. I will not hurt you.”

Lehnsherr relaxed slightly, but he remained skeptical and appeared ready to fight, if necessary. In cases like these, Charles thought, it is better to show than tell. He rang the bell for the help.

“Would you bring General Lehnsherr some food and water from the kitchen?” he asked the servant, who nodded and retreated from the room without a word. Lehnsherr sat up a little straighter, eyes wide. He’d understood that, too. Charles could practically hear him salivating; frontier prisons were notknown for their food, after all.

The servant returned a few minutes later carrying a bowl of stew, the same stew Charles had eaten at lunch earlier that day, with thick chunks of bison meat and potatoes. Charles’ gaze fell to Lehnsherr’s thighs, revealed beneath the tattered prison shirt he still wore, and thought he might like seeing Lehnsherr with a little meat on his bones, a little something warm in his belly to put some color in his skin.

He shook off the thought as quickly as it came.

“Eat as much as you like,” Charles said, as if Lehnsherr needed any encouragement. Fortunately for him, his handcuffs were done in front of his body rather than behind, so he was free to dig in, with enough hungry enthusiasm to make up for the awkwardness of holding a spoon with the cuffs.

As Lehnsherr ate, Charles stood and returned to the maps he’d been studying earlier in the day, as the storm blew on outside. Emma was right: there was plenty of opportunity in these parts. The mountains were virtually stuffed with gold, from what Charles had heard. Better yet, they were literally stuffed with copper and iron ore, which were being purchased by companies like Xavier Corp for more than $20 per pound. Trouble was, Charles didn’t even have $20, let alone the money to buy some land, or invest in a mine, or anything else. But plenty of men had come out to these hills with empty pockets and walked away millionaires. That was what Charles was hoping to do.

He ran his fingers over the maps. Good Mountain. Sawtooth Mountain. Gray Peak. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Erik glance up at him with interest, and he realized he’d been saying the words aloud.

“Do you know these places?” Charles asked.

Lehnsherr looked as though he may answer, but instead he turned back to the stew.

No matter. Charles continued down the eastern slopes - Bannock Peak, Echo Ridge, Clark Mountain - until he saw a name he recognized.

“Lehnsherr Hill?” he asked aloud. “Do you know it?”

General Lehnsherr’s eyes flashed.

“I’m only curious - is this Lehnsherr Hill to do with your family? There can’t be that many Lehnsherrs out here.”

Again it looked as though Lehnsherr may answer, but he turned away from Charles to scrape away at the bottom of the bowl with his spoon.

“Are you finished?” Charles asked, and Lehnsherr, probably without even realizing it, nodded just slightly and put the bowl down.

“I think you do speak English,” Charles smirked. “That’s all right. You don’t have to talk to me. I talk to myself just fine, thank you very much.” He rang the bell again for the servant, and when the food was cleared away, Charles returned to sit facing his surprise guest.

“This thing tonight is a party that the state house is throwing to welcome me to Genosha. I didn’t ask them to do it, and I did not ask them to bring you, or anyone else, to me as a gift, or as a date, or whatever else they had in mind. But every damn person in this place has a gun and if you try to make a bolt for it, they’ll shoot you dead faster than you can say your own name. So my advice to you - help me make it through this thing tonight, and I’ll make sure you get out of here alive in the morning. And without the cuffs. Deal?”

Lehnsherr said nothing, but Charles would have sworn he understood every word.

“It beats the hell out of prison, I’m sure,” Charles went on. “We’ll get a good meal, shake a few hands, and live to tell the tale. I can promise you that much.” He shrugged. “Or you can try to make a run for it and take a bullet to the back of your head. Your choice.”

No response, not that he was expecting one. Charles sat back in his seat. He knew that Genosha was a backwater - it had been an unincorporated, barely governed territory of the Kingdom for decades, only forcibly made an official province in the last few months - but even so, Charles would not have expected that anyone, anywhere, still passed omegas around like so much currency. That was why Frost had brought Lehnsherr here from prison, after all: an offer to Charles in the hopes that he would repay her by supporting the local economy. Unfortunately, Charles was not interested in receiving a person as a welcome gift, even if said person was as remarkable as Lehnsherr, nor did he have anything to offer the local economy in return.

Before Charles could think of what to do with Lehnsherr, a servant stepped in and made the decision for him. She bowed her head slightly towards Charles, then said, “Governor Frost has instructed me to clean up your omega for tonight’s event.” She then snapped her fingers at Lehnsherr, who scowled and looked to Charles.

“She’ll get you some clothes, at least,” he said apologetically. He half expected Lehnsherr to take a fire iron to the servant’s head and make a run for it. From the expression on Lehnsherr’s face, he may have even been considering it. Instead, he stood and followed the servant without any fuss. Perhaps he knew better than to run out into the snow before getting some clothes, or perhaps he spotted the pistol at the servant’s hip. Either way, Lehnsherr and the servant disappeared into the hallway peacefully, leaving Charles alone again.

He really ought to have come up with a plan before coming out here, Charles thought to himself. His entire thought process in leaving the Capital for Genosha was that it sounded exciting, was far away from Kurt Marko, and apparently there was money to be made. There was no better place in the Kingdom to start over from nothing, and that was precisely what Charles had to do. It was generous enough for the state house at Meadowlark to offer him room and board out of respect for his father’s name, but Charles could see now that it would not do. They wanted more from him than he had to offer, and if he was going to make it on his own on the frontier, he had to get away before he became tangled up in all this.

He’d leave in the morning, he decided. It would do him no good to disappear before this gala tonight - Emma Frost, for all her faults, was the only person he knew within a thousand miles, and he’d do better not to burn that bridge. Besides, he’d promised Lehnsherr that he would get him out of there alive. Lehnsherr was a local, and if he’d been a leader in the militia, then he was a well-respected one at that. He could be a valuable ally, and Charles intended to do right by him. And he wouldn’t mind having Lehnsherr’s company for the evening, either.


	2. Chapter 2

Erik loathed male omega fashion, especially the type worn by Easterners. It was all about control: clothes tight, hair short, every part of the body shaved and plucked and fastened into submission. Clothing wasn’t nearly so strict in Genosha. Erik and his sister, also an omega, were raised to ride horses and tend cattle. In this outfit he could barely lift his arms.

“You must always follow the alpha’s lead,” the maid told him as she cropped his hair down to the roots. “When he takes a sip, you take a sip. What he eats, you eat. Do not speak unless spoken to. Do not stand until he stands. Do you understand me?”

Erik understood every word, of course, but he did not respond. He glared at the wall, trying not to think about the way every inch of his skin throbbed from their hot wax treatments. He would have loved to have taken the hot wax and poured it over the maid’s head before jumping out the window and onto a horse to ride off into the sunset.

Unfortunately, Xavier had been right. In this building he was as good as dead if he moved even a toe out of line. Playing along until morning, or at least until all of the party guests were gone and their pistols with them, was his best chance to get out of there with his heart still beating. He was also long overdue for a bath, and there was no telling when he’d get the chance again. So he allowed them to dress him up like a doll, just for the one night. He was better off leaving that place clean and clothed. At least the handcuffs had been removed.

The maid stood him in front of a mirror. Erik had to admit, he looked and felt much better than he had that morning. He was clean-shaven again, and he’d been scrubbed of the dirt and foul stench of prison. The maid had cut his hair far shorter than he typically wore it, but he supposed it was better to be over-groomed than under-groomed, especially considering how humiliated he’d felt at being introduced to Charles Xavier the way he had.

Erik had encountered Eastern alphas before, of course. There had been Easterners in Genosha for generations. But never in his life had he been forced to kneel like that. And this after having just been imprisoned for a week, and out fighting for a month before that. He was already exhausted, broken, ragged, and defeated, and then forced onto his bare knees in front of what must have been the handsomest man Erik had ever seen in his life. He’d never been so humiliated or degraded. Never.

The maid pulled up a stool, muttering about how damned tall Genoshans were, and climbed up to fiddle with Erik’s high collar. It was already too tight in his opinion, but she managed to tighten it further. Apparently he was not supposed to breathe without an alpha’s permission, either.

“I suppose you look acceptable,” the maid muttered, brushing stray hairs from Erik’s shoulders. “Doing the best I can with what I've got, and it's not much, lord knows.” She stepped down from the stool and marched to the door. “Are you coming?” she shouted back to him.

Erik followed the maid back down the corridor towards Xavier’s rooms. Guests were already arriving, or so he assumed from the voices and music echoing from the other direction. The smell of roasted lamb made his stomach growl.

The maid knocked twice at Xavier’s door, then entered without waiting for a response. “I cleaned him up some for you,” she said as she grabbed Erik’s arm and pulled him into the room. “We didn’t have much that would fit an omega of his size, so this will have to do.”

Xavier was nowhere to be seen.

“Your Grace?” the maid called.

“Yes, yes, I’m coming!” He stepped out from behind a door, still working on his own tie. He’d gotten changed himself, into an extremely well-fitted suit, accented with blue silk that highlighted his eyes and a glistening gold chain on his pocket watch. Erik’s heart pounded as Xavier looked up at him and the surprise registered on his face. “Oh my,” said Xavier. “Don’t you look… well I don’t think I would have recognized you, General Lehnsherr.”

“Erik.” It was the first time he’d spoken since he arrived, and he almost regretted it, until he saw the way Xavier smiled in response.

“Charles.” His face lit up, and he stepped forward to shake Erik’s hand. He then turned to dismiss the maid. “Thank you, ma’am. That will be all.”

Erik had been right earlier: Charles truly was one of the handsomest men he had ever met, even if he was half a foot shorter than him. It was also possible that Erik was still hungry, still dehydrated, still exhausted, and had not seen an alpha worth a second glance in a very long time, and was therefore biased. It didn’t matter either way. Erik would never see him again after tonight, so he thought he may as well enjoy the view while he had it.

“May I offer you a drink before we go?” asked Charles. “There’s whiskey in the cupboard, and I’m afraid nothing else.”

Erik made no response. He was still pretending he didn’t speak English. Just because he’d studied the enemy’s tongue didn’t mean he intended to use it to their own advantage. Especially if it meant he would have to talk to anyone at this damned thing tonight.

“No? You’re right. It’s probably best if we get this over with.” Charles looped his arm into Erik’s and led him to the door. “Shall we?”

 

***

 

The ballroom where the gala was being held was guarded by two burly men. They were each perched on a bar stool on either side of the entryway with pistols at their hips, their boots stained dark with either mud or blood - Erik couldn’t be sure which. To Erik’s horror, he recognized them. The one on the left had a scar across his cheek, which Erik had given him a couple of weeks earlier. The other was missing his front teeth. Erik didn’t recall knocking out anyone’s teeth, but with his luck, that was probably his handiwork, too. He prayed to any god that would listen that these men wouldn’t recognize him in turn.

“Good evening, gentlemen,” said Charles as they approached. Erik bowed his head like a good omega, hoping that they wouldn’t get a glimpse of his face.

“Private party.” Scarface stood and blocked the door.

“Yes, I’m Charles Xavier.” He pointed to the banner overhead that read  _Welcome Charles Xavier_. “And this is my date for the evening, Erik Lehnsherr.”

“Erik Lehnsherr?” asked Scarface. “Ain't no way!”

Erik had been wrong earlier:  _this_  was the most embarrassing moment of his life. He lifted his head and glared at the two guards, who gaped at him.

“Can’t be,” said Toothless. “Lehnsherr ain’t no omega.”

“I'll be damned. That’s him all right.” Scarface stepped forward until he was face to face with Erik. “Who’d’a thought. Lehnsherr’s a meg.” He sneered. “If I’d’a known you were so pretty I might’ve--”

“That’s enough!” Charles shouted. “Let us through.”

Scarface backed off. “You got it, sir.” He then tipped his head to Erik. “Ma’am.” Toothless chuckled.

Charles took Erik’s arm and glared at Scarface. “If you call him a meg again, I’ll tell the sheriff you stole from my room and have you tarred in the square. Come on, Erik.”

Erik held his head high and allowed Charles to lead him into the party.

From what Erik had heard, parties in the Capital were decadent. For years there had been stories of fireworks displays, imported wines, tents woven with gold thread, vision-inducing tonics, and lavish feasts that went on for days. One of Erik’s lieutenants told him that she heard that the palace had thrown a party where the main entertainment was watching two Genoshan omegas face off against a bull.

"This is the 'gala?'" Charles whispered to him, looking around the room with distaste.

Erik had told his lieutenant those stories were just propaganda, but now he wasn’t so sure.

The room looked extremely formal to Erik's eyes. He hadn’t seen people this dressed up since the priest’s daughter was married. The alphas were dressed in their finest. The female omegas were all adorned with feathers and gems, and the males were even more scrubbed and buffed than Erik. Many of them even wore tints on their lips and charcoal on their eyelashes, which was where Erik had drawn the line. He’d thought the maid had been pulling his leg about that, but apparently that was really what Eastern male omegas did for special occasions.

A waiter passed by with a tray of drinks: some sort of clear bubbly something in tall glasses that Erik had never seen before. Charles took two and passed one to Erik. “Cheers,” he said, and bumped his glass against Erik’s. “To surviving this stupid party.”

Erik could drink to that.

Across the room, Governor Frost caught sight of them and grinned. She signaled to the musicians to stop for a moment (and they were real, live musicians, not a player piano as was more usual in Genosha).

“Ladies and gentlemen, it appears our guest of honor has arrived,” she announced, then waited for everyone’s attention before she continued. “We here in Meadowlark, capital of the newly recognized Royal Province of Genosha, are very proud to have with us today His Grace, Charles Xavier, Duke of Graymalkin.” There was a small, unimpressed murmur. “You all may remember his father, Brian Xavier, inventor of the electric light bulb, the phonograph, and the kinetograph, and founder of the Xavier Electric Corporation, which is bringing the wonders of electricity to every corner of the Kingdom. It’s thanks to Xavier Corp’s advances in copper wiring that Genosha’s mining industry is booming right now, and will continue to thrive into the future.”

That got the crowd’s attention. The murmuring turned positive, and several people raised their glasses in Charles’ direction. Charles appeared to be smiling, but compared to the smile that had buckled Erik’s knees earlier, it looked more like a grimace.

“I’d also like to welcome the Duke’s omega date for the evening,” Governor Frost continued, her smile growing wicked. “Erik Lehnsherr of Lehnsherr Hill. I believe we all remember Lehnsherr from his fearsome charge on our troops at Sawtooth Falls. And my, how lovely he looks tonight!”

The crowd actually giggled, and Erik burned scarlet. This whole evening was set up to humiliate him, as if they had never seen a male omega before, as if there weren’t a dozen male omegas in this very room. Charles gripped his hand tighter.

“So let’s raise our glasses to our guests of honor! Cheers!”

“Cheers!” echoed the crowd.

Charles pulled him close and whispered, “Let’s get out of here,” but it was too late. Already a cluster of people had formed around Charles, all alphas introducing themselves, each of their jeweled, feathered, coal-eyed omegas standing behind their alphas making flirtatious, pouting faces in Charles’ general direction.

“I was wondering if you’d been to see the mines at Burley Butte yet?” asked one alpha. “The copper output is really something else. I’d be happy to give you a private tour sometime.”

“Rail is coming to Genosha,” said another. “Steam locomotives are going to change the world. Ain’t no better way to transport long distance than rail. You interested in rail? Let me give you my card.”

“Rail ain’t nothing without steel. Steel is where it’s at, and there’s plenty of iron ore in these hills. I’m looking to start manufacturing steel right here in Meadowlark. You ever heard of the Bessemer process?”

“I run a home for Genoshan orphans, all abandoned by their parents - you know what these Genoshans are like. We are just trying to offer these poor cherubs a civilized upbringing, and we are in desperate need of funds. Any kind of donation is most appreciated, Your Grace. Most appreciated.”

“Are you gentlemen having a nice time?” asked Governor Frost, interrupting the ambush.

“Oh yes,” said Charles through a strained smile. “So many wonderful investment opportunities out here.”

“Indeed there are.” Frost turned to Erik. “Mr. Lehnsherr, there’s someone I’d like you to meet, but he doesn’t seem to have arrived yet. I’m hoping he will arrive soon.”

Erik shuddered to think what that might mean.

“Well, why don’t we take our seats for dinner?” said Frost. “Come join me at Table One.”

Charles shook his head. “That’s very kind of you, but I think I’d like to make some new acquaintances tonight. Erik and I will sit back here.”

Frost’s smile tightened. “Very well, then. We’ll catch up later. Enjoy.” As she walked away, Erik listened as she approached another alpha and asked, “Do you know if Sebastian Shaw is able to come tonight?” The alpha said, “No, he left for Bitterroot more than a week ago.” “Oh no,” said Emma, “I sent the invitation to his Meadowlark address. I thought he was still in town. That’s a shame. I was hoping he’d be here tonight.”

Shaw was the guest she wanted him to meet. That was why Frost had made a big show of dressing him up and announcing to everyone that he was an omega. Erik was so distracted by this realization he didn’t even notice that Charles had led him to a table and sat him down.

“Are you all right?” asked Charles. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

Sebastian Shaw had been trying to purchase Lehnsherr Hill for the past four years. The house and property were owned by Erik outright, passed to his mother after his father’s death, and to him by his mother when she'd grown too old to defend it herself. Under Kingdom law, omegas cannot be landowners. That was why Erik had joined the militia and why Erik fought Kingdom rule in Genosha in the first place - if it got out that he was an omega, then under the new law, he and his mother will have lost Lehnsherr Hill. Governor Frost was doing her damnedest to make sure that Shaw found out that Erik was an omega, and therefore that Lehnsherr Hill was up for grabs.

“Here, have a sip of water,” said Charles. He looked genuinely worried for Erik, his blue eyes wide with concern. Erik knew he should probably get out of there as fast as possible, but Charles put a hand on his knee and smiled up at him. Erik sipped at the water, unable to look away. “Let’s get you a bite of food as well.” He flagged down a waiter. “Can you bring over a bit of bread for Mr. Lehnsherr? Thank you very much.”

Charles was probably right - some food and water would likely help. Besides, he reasoned, if word of this party hadn’t reached Shaw out in Bitterroot, then word that Erik was an omega hadn’t reached him yet, either.

A few more couples sat down at the table with them as the waiter delivered the bread. Fortunately, most of the fancier-looking people had taken seats closer to the front, so their dining companions were a bit less intimidating than some of the other guests. They looked like local people - Easterners who’d grown up in Genosha, whose families came out here sixty or seventy years ago in the first land rush. Most of them were decent people, in Erik’s experience, and they’d adapted to life in Genosha. It was a relief to sit with people he understood.

Charles did not seem quite so relieved. Even these less-wealthy people wanted to talk business with him. By the second course, they weren’t even trying to be subtle.

“You know, Mr. Xavier, if it’s land you’re looking for, there’s gonna be some handsome lots up for bid at the Bitterroot Auction House this Tuesday next,” said an alpha woman sitting opposite them. “For the price of a room in the Capital you could get yourself a couple hundred acres of good, workable land. Hell, they’re even giving away plots to homesteaders.”

“Homesteaders?” Charles asked as he dug into his steak.

“They’ve got more unclaimed land out here than they got people to claim it,” she said.

Erik boggled his mind trying to think where in a hundred miles of where they sat there could possibly enough unclaimed land to start giving it away. Not any land worth claiming, he was sure. He sipped at his water, listening.

The woman went on, “If you’re an able-bodied alpha and you’re willing to live on the land and work it yourself, they’ll give you a hundred acres, no questions asked. If you’re an alpha with a family, they’ll give you a hundred and fifty.”

“Just for showing up?” Charles looked skeptical.

“Like I said, able-bodied alpha, or better yet, able-bodied alpha with family. They want to make sure the land goes to the right sort of people, if you know what I mean.”

The right sort of people. Erik’s heart pounded. This wasn’t unclaimed land, then. This was land claimed by the  _wrong_  sort of people, which meant Genoshans, omegas, and Genoshan omegas, like himself. That must have been why Shaw was in Bitterroot. He was there for the auction, and if he finds out that neither Erik nor his mother had legal claim to the land, he would make sure that Lehnsherr Hill was on the auction block. Or worse: purchased by him before the auction even began.

Erik stood, pushing his seat out with a noisy scrape against the floor. When he realized he’d stood before his alpha, he gave a quick bow, and attempted to excuse himself politely. He had already lingered here with Charles for too long. He had to get out of that room. He had to get out of that building. He had to go fight for his land before word got to the auctioneers at Bitterroot that he was an omega and Lehnsherr Hill was taken from him.

Charles didn’t seem to mind that he’d stood up against protocol. He heard Charles asking, “What constitutes family for those extra fifty acres? Does it have to be a bonded spouse and children or would a sibling count?” as Erik calmly moved toward the door. Best not to draw attention to himself, he thought. He would just walk out the door like any other guest.

No such luck. Scarface and Toothless were still there guarding the door. They stepped in front of him and blocked his path.

“Where do you think you’re going?” said Toothless, making sure it was obvious that he had two pistols at the ready.

Erik took care not to flinch. Instead he went for the most extreme broken English Genoshan accent he could muster. “I must use toilet,” he said.

The two disgusting men glanced at each other and laughed.

“You ain’t going nowhere, princess,” cackled Scarface. “The Governor told us to keep an eye on you.”

“And I’m glad we did! Lucky us! Prettiest General in the land, that’s what you are!” said Toothless, and with that the hooting and hollering continued. “Not so tough anymore! Can’t hide no pistols in that getup, can you?”

Erik fumed. He was about half a second from knocking their skulls together, taking their guns, and shooting his way out of the building, when Charles turned up at his side.

“Is there a problem here, gentlemen?” he asked.

“No problem at all, sir, just keeping an eye on this fine specimen.”

Erik gritted his teeth and repeated, “I must use toilet.”

“Are they not letting you use the restroom?” Charles turned to the guards. “I am Mr. Lehnsherr’s alpha escort for the evening. We’re going to use the restroom now. Step aside.”

The two lugs shrugged and let Erik and Charles out into the hallway. Together they walked down the corridor and around the corner before Charles whispered, “What’s going on?”

“I have to get out of here!” Erik whispered back, all the while quickening his pace. There was no more time for games. If he was going to make it to Bitterroot before the auction on Tuesday, he didn’t have a second to spare. “There’s no time. I have to leave.”

“I knew you spoke English!” Charles grinned triumphantly.

“Yes, yes, I speak English. Happy now?”

Charles grabbed his arm and pulled him to a stop. “Where are you going?”

“I have to go to Bitterroot. They’ve been trying to take my mother’s land for years, and if they find out I’m an omega, then it’s lost. It will go to auction or homesteaders or Shaw.”

“That’s real? They’re really giving away unclaimed land?”

“There is no unclaimed land!” Erik hissed. “It’s land they’ve taken!”

Charles gave a sharp nod and marched forward. “I’m coming with you.”

“What? No, you’re not!”

“If I stay here any longer they’ll figure out that I don’t have any money to give away, which is the only reason they’re letting me stay here in the first place. If I can get to Bitterroot then at least there’s a chance I could get some land to my name, and I don’t know how to get there. So, I’ll come with you.”

“Why should I let you come with me?”

“You’ll need an alpha companion while traveling long distance and I don’t see anyone else lining up to take the job.”

“I can get to Bitterroot just fine on my own!”

Charles rolled his eyes. “You couldn’t even get to the toilet without me!”

“I could have!”

“Without killing them?”

“Oh, who does anything around here without killing someone these days?”

Charles smiled. “I do.” And with that, he stepped ahead of Erik and marched toward the front door, head held high.

Erik followed him. Mostly because he was heading that way anyway, and exiting following his alpha (for the evening) would draw less suspicion from any passersby, as he’d learned a few minutes earlier.

They made their way out the front door past the guards, down the steps into the cool night, and over towards the stables at the front of the property.

“Hello there!” Charles called to the attendant with a bright smile. “I don’t believe we’ve met. I’m Charles Xavier, Duke of Graymalkin, visiting from the Capital. I wished to go for a ride with my companion, and the Governor said that we may borrow two of the horses.”

The attendant nodded. “Of course, sir. Right this way.”

Charles turned and winked at Erik before following the attendant into the stables.

“These two right here should do you just fine,” said the attendant, gesturing to a pair of horses that looked like they’d seen better days. Not Erik’s first choice, but they’d get the job done and no one would miss them if they didn’t return. “There are some hats and coats at the front if you need ‘em. Still pretty chilly out there. Saddle ‘em up and you’re ready to go.”

“Thank you very much,” said Charles. “Would you mind helping us saddle the horses? I’m afraid I --”

“I can saddle them,” said Erik. “Sir.”

“Thank you, that would be very helpful.”

The attendant tipped his hat to them and returned to his post.

Charles grinned. “See? It will be much easier for us to go to Bitterroot together. You show me the path, and I’ll make sure it's... smooth for you.”

Erik felt his cheeks flush and he fought back a smile as he went to fetch the saddles for the horses, which were stored on a high shelf. In that ridiculous omega suit the maid put him in, Erik couldn’t even reach his arms up to get them down. “Dammit,” he muttered. Not knowing what else to do, Erik unfastened the collar, then threw his arms in the air with as much force as he could, causing the fabric to tear at the seams. The suit was destroyed, but he could reach the saddles. He did the same to the pants - he couldn’t have gotten on a horse otherwise.

Charles arched an eyebrow at Erik’s tattered clothing. “Better?”

“Much better, thank you.”

As Erik led the horses out of their pens and got them ready to ride, Charles went and fetched them both riding coats and hats. Both sets were alpha sets, Erik noticed, and he wondered if Charles had purposely not given him an omega riding hat or if he simply didn’t know the difference. If he couldn’t saddle a horse and couldn’t identify the correct gear, Erik wondered if Charles even know how to ride.

Apparently he did. Charles climbed onto the horse with ease and took hold of the reins, then adjusted his hat. “Ready to go?” Charles asked.

By then Erik had enough of that fizzy drink in him to admit that Charles looked mighty handsome up there. He found he was having a hard time telling Charles no. “Don’t you need your things?” he heard himself saying.

Charles shook his head. “No,” he said. “\ Didn’t bring anything worth a damn anyway. They can throw all my things into a ravine if they want.” He sighed. “I’ll send Frost a telegram to apologize. I wanted to stay on her good side, but...” He looked down at Erik. “I think I’d rather go with you.”

Erik shook his head and smiled. “All right.” He climbed up. “I guess we go together.”


	3. Chapter 3

Together they rode off into the night, at first maintaining a leisurely pace, as though they were only out for a casual ride in the moonlight. Then once they were past the edges of town, into the brush beyond the view of anyone in Meadowlark, they took off at a moderate gallop, headed south south west, directly towards the mountains.

Charles was rather proud of himself for keeping up with Erik on horseback. He’d learned to ride as a boy, back when his family spent their summers at the country estate, playing polo and fishing in the lake. Since his father died, however, Charles’ only riding experience had been short trots around Capital Park to impress omegas. He felt capable, but he had never ridden a horse in open country like this before. Erik seemed more comfortable on a horse than on his own two feet.

They did not speak for the entire first leg of the journey. They rode to the crunch of the horses’ hooves on the snowy ground, the steady chirp of crickets, and the howl of something Charles hoped to God wasn’t a wolf, but was afraid to ask Erik to identify. At some point along the route, which must have meant something to Erik but looked the same as any other point in their trip to Charles, Erik slowed them to a stop. He looked up at the sky, studying the mosaic of stars above their heads, glared at the moon, and scanned the horizon all around them. Charles would have paid dearly to know what Erik was thinking then. The intensity behind Erik’s eyes sent a chill down Charles’s spine; it was like watching a soothsayer. When Erik then looked down at the horse, stroking its neck and murmuring to it, Charles took a moment to memorize this sight in front of him. The stars, the mountains, the horse, the man - utterly beautiful.

Erik spoke only two words. “This way.” Then they were off again.

The pace was slower now, and they’d turned nearly ninety degrees to amble off in a different direction. After a few minutes, Erik slowed down to an easy walk, and signaled for Charles to do the same.

“Is something wrong?” Charles asked.

Erik shook his head. "These horses are not good for riding this hard,” Erik told him in slightly accented English. “We must take it easy if we want them to live all the way to Bitterroot."

“How far is it?”

“To Bitterroot?” Erik asked. “Four days, more or less. We have enough time, but only if we are fast and there are no problems.”

Four days never seemed longer to Charles. This was already more time on a horse than he had spent in the past two years put together.

Just as he began to wonder if they planned to ride straight through the night, Erik said, “I have a friend near here. We will stay with her tonight. She will let us in.”

“Oh,” said Charles. “That would be nice. Thank you.”

Erik gave Charles a hint of a smile and tipped his head towards him. How pathetic of him, Charles thought, that his heart fluttered at Erik’s tiniest smile. Erik must have thought him the worst type of cad. Charles had barely showed him any attention until he’d been scrubbed up and made presentable, and he had been flirting ever since. He’d even invited himself along to Bitterroot, wherever the hell that was. But that was the point of this trip west, Charles reminded himself: a little adventure in search of opportunities. This was what Charles had been hoping for in Genosha, and even better, he had an attractive omega at his side.

As he was musing on this little adventure, he noticed that Erik had stopped. Charles signaled his own horse to stop, too.

“Are we stopping?” he asked.

“No,” said Erik. “It’s okay. Go ahead. That way.”

Charles nodded and continued on. After a few steps, he noticed that Erik had not moved.

“Go,” Erik said.

Cautiously, Charles urged his horse forward. He was beginning to feel suspicious. Was Erik leading him into danger? Was Erik going to leave him out there, in the middle of nowhere? Charles glanced back after a few more paces, and saw that Erik had begun to follow, but slowly, and he was wearing an odd expression on his face.

Charles began to wonder if he had made a horrible mistake.

He turned back and told Erik, “I would really feel more comfortable if you would lead.”

Erik shook his head. “It’s okay. Straight that way.”

“No,” Charles stopped the horse. “I want you to go ahead.”

Frowning, Erik moved to Charles’ side. “Why?”

“Why do you want me to go ahead of you?”

Erik’s frown deepened. “That’s what she told me!” he said, barely hiding his annoyance. “The maid, she said I must follow behind the alpha. So, I get us here, now I follow behind.”

“Oh!” Charles chuckled with relief. He was not about to be murdered after all. “Oh, thank goodness. No, no. That’s not necessary.”

Erik prickled at being laughed at, so Charles hid his amusement and explained kindly, “Yes, that is polite for formal occasions, like that gala, or a church service, or something like that. But on a normal day, I don’t care. It doesn’t matter. You are more experienced and you know the way, so I will follow you.” He tipped his hat deferentially towards Erik, who appeared surprised and relieved.

“Me first?” asked Erik, his expression softening.

“Yes, you first. It’s okay. I promise.” Charles smiled. “You are good at this, so I follow you. Maybe one day we will do something I am good at, and then you can follow me.”

That seemed to satisfy Erik. He relaxed, and led on ahead at a slow pace, with Charles following at his side.

“What are you good at?” Erik asked.

“What am I good at?” Charles had to think about that for a moment. “I suppose I am good at chess.”

“Chess?”

“It’s a game. Do you play it here?” Erik shook his head, no. “It’s a good game. Maybe I will teach you,” Charles said. “What about you? Do you have any secret talents?”

That made Erik smile - a real, full smile, not like the polite ones he’d shown earlier in the evening. “Secret talents?” he asked.

“Yes. I know you are good with horses and probably farming or ranching or other things you do on your land. I know you are strong and you can fight. Is there something else you’re good at? Something surprising?”

“Surprising…” Erik thought, then shrugged. “I play piano.”

“Really?”

“Yes. Not bad. We have a piano at the house. I started when I was very small. It is the only thing I enjoy being inside.”

“Do you sing, too?”

That made Erik laugh out loud: a joyous surprise that echoed through the night air. “No. Piano, yes. Sing, no. I sing like… a donkey.”

At that, Charles laughed, too. “I would like to hear you play sometime.”

Erik did not respond to that. He just nodded, and they continued on.

A few minutes later, he spoke again.

“All of those things they said about your father. It is all true?” Erik asked.

“Yes. All true.”

“Then why are you riding away with nothing?”

Charles sighed. Somehow he thought that he could get away, but even out there in the middle of Genosha wilderness with a strange omega in the middle of the night, his father’s legacy still followed him.

“My father died when I was thirteen years old. A year later, my mother married one of his business associates, Kurt Marko, and he took over the company. By the time I was eighteen, my inheritance was gone, and Marko had taken over Xavier Corp. I spent years trying to make a place for myself there, but it was no use. So I gave up on the Capital and came out to Genosha. Time for a new start, away from all that.”

“And you want land?”

“I suppose.” Charles shrugged. “Isn’t that what people do here?”

Erik eyed him. “You want my land?”

“Oh, no! No, of course not.”

Still Erik glared at him.

“I think you would kill me if I tried to take your land,” Charles said with a nervous laugh.

“Yes, I would,” Erik said.

Charles nodded. “All right then.”

 

**

 

By the time they arrived at their destination, Charles’ fingers were turning blue. The temperature had dropped steadily since they left Meadowlark, from mildly uncomfortable to dangerously cold. Erik must have been absolutely freezing, Charles thought. All he had on under the stolen coat and hat was that frilly omega suit that he’d torn back at the stables.

Just the thought of it was enough to make Charles flush. The man  _literally burst out of his clothing._  He was like a dirty magazine come to life.

Charles followed Erik’s lead and hopped off the horse, then led it by the reins to a small shelter, where one other horse was tied up.

“They will be okay here for tonight,” Erik said as he tied up the horses.

Charles tried to reply, but instead his teeth just chattered.

They’d arrived at a modest log cabin, one story with few windows, each as dark as the night. The only signs that someone lived there were a well-tended garden in the back and a chicken coop not far behind it. Charles didn’t see any smoke coming from the chimney. He dearly hoped that there would be a fire lit when they got inside.

Erik knocked at the door. A minute later, it cracked open just a few inches, just enough for a double barrel shotgun to poke its way out.

Erik held his hands in the air and announced himself, repeating his name calmly until the shotgun lowered. The door swung open wider, revealing a very pretty woman of about Erik’s age, with large, dark eyes and a pale streak in the front of her hair. It took a moment for her expression to change from terrified to relieved, then she scolded Erik, then she pulled him into a hug. Charles didn’t understand a word of their exchange, which was all in Genoshan, until Erik turned and said, “This is Charles Xavier.”

Charles tipped his hat. “Pleased to meet you.”

“I’m Anna Marie,” she said, and bowed her head slightly. “Me and Erik went to the same school when we were kids.” She crossed her arms and smiled at Erik. “Did you go and get hitched without tellin’ me?”

Erik turned sheepish. “No, I did not. It’s a long story.”

Anna Marie stepped back and opened the door. “Well, why don’t you come on in and warm up and you can tell me all about it in the morning?” She ducked away to light a candle, then led them in.

There was indeed a fire lit on the inside, but it had already burned down to little more than glowing embers. The cabin was warm enough inside, warmer than outside at least, and Charles stood at the fireplace until his skin stopped prickling.

Charles had never been inside a home like this before, and he looked around with great curiosity. The whole cabin amounted to one room, with a small loft over the kitchen that appeared to be where Anna Marie slept. Heat rises, Charles remembered. It was probably comfortable up there. Down in the rest of the cabin, there was little furniture to speak of - a table and chairs, a hutch for storage, a woven rug over the hard wood floor. Charles scolded the voice in his head (which sounded an awful lot like his mother’s) that wanted to be shocked at how poor Anna Marie was. It was exceedingly generous of her to let Erik and him into her home in the middle of the night. Besides, Charles thought as he looked around, this was more than he had at the moment.

She went into the hutch and pulled out two quilts, one for Charles and one for Erik. The one in Charles’s hands was clearly handmade, and exquisitely done. He wondered if Anna Marie had made it herself, or perhaps a relative.

“Erik, what are you wearing?” Anna Marie asked in a whisper.

He had taken the coat off, revealing the tattered omega suit underneath.

“They put this on me,” Erik sighed. “It was too small.”

Anna Marie did not seem surprised, and Charles wondered if the capturing of omegas was the sort of thing that happened a lot around here. “I’ll find you something to wear in the morning. Some real clothes.”

Erik thanked Anna Marie in Genoshan - one of the few Genoshan phrases Charles had learned since he’d arrived, and Charles was proud of himself for recognizing it.

Anna Marie then pulled two small pillows out of the hutch and handed them over. “I’m sorry I don’t have anything more comfortable for you. The boys and I don’t have anything more to spare.”

“That’s quite all right,” said Charles, glancing up at the loft. He hadn’t noticed that there were other people up there. “You are very generous.”

“Help yourself to anything you might need. Erik knows his way around here, so if you’re looking for something, he can probably find it for you. I’m going back to bed. Sleep well. See you in the morning.”

Charles smiled and said thank you, first in English, than in Genoshan. Unfortunately, considering the barely-concealed snickers from both Erik and Anna Marie, he had a feeling he’d gotten it wrong.

“What? What did I say?” he asked.

Erik exchanged a glance with Anna Marie, then explained, “You said thank you, but the way you said it, it sounded like a word we use for… um… the hair that is near your penis.”

Charles smiled, and said it again.

At that Anna Marie burst out laughing, then covered her mouth with her hand. “We have to be quiet. We’re going to wake the boys.”

“Okay, we’ll get to sleep now.”

“Good night,” said Anna Marie.

She climbed the ladder up to the loft, and when she reached the top, she blew out the candle. The only remaining light came from the moon through the window and the soft glow from the fireplace.

Without speaking, Erik shifted the few pieces of furniture in the room to create more open space on the floor in front of the fireplace, then lay down on the floor, head on the pillow, and quilt over him. Charles followed his lead and lay down a few feet away. It was like sleeping on granite. Charles could feel every bone in his body pressed against the floor, and when he shivered, the pain traveled through the vibrations.

"Is it always this cold here?" Charles asked quietly.

"No," said Erik. "Not this late in the season. Should be spring by now."

"I hope so."

Charles shivered again, so obviously this time that Erik took pity on him.

“Come closer,” he whispered. “It’s warmer together.”

Charles sat up and slid over beside Erik, who piled both their quilts on top of them and curled up closer still. They were near enough now to share body heat. They were also near enough to scent.

Erik was asleep before Charles could even start to get any ideas about them sleeping so near to each other. He was snoring almost before his head hit the pillow - he must have been exhausted after the day he’d had. Exhausted enough not to worry about sharing blankets with an unfamiliar alpha.

Charles couldn’t sleep so easily. He was warming up, yes, but the floor still hurt his back and his hips, and he could smell Erik from here. Their faces were about twelve inches apart - close enough only for a hint. It was far from proper, Charles thought, but he was far from anywhere proper at the moment, so he took a chance and leaned in closer, until his nose was inches from Erik’s neck. He couldn’t help himself. He breathed in deeply, slowly, and scented Erik.

Erik smelled like morning sex on a forest floor. Charles shifted himself closer still, so that the tip of his nose brushed against Erik’s long, pale neck. Perhaps it was the exhaustion talking, but as he closed his eyes, he thought he wanted to breathe nothing but Erik, never anything else, not for the rest of the night, not ever again.

Then Charles heard a snuffle, and Erik’s eyes opened just a bit, just a flash of blue behind a dark fan of lashes. He was still asleep, or still mostly asleep, as he hummed and nuzzled his nose into Charles’ beard. “Mmmmm.” He breathed in deeply, scenting Charles in turn. He then nuzzled Charles again, and fell right back to sleep, a smile on his face.

 

**

 

It was well past dawn when Erik woke the following morning. They were already behind schedule, he thought first. His second thought: when had he and Charles become tangled in the night? Their faces were near touching, and Charles’ hand lay across Erik’s waist as though he was pulling Erik towards him. Erik sat up slowly and moved Charles’ hand gently enough not to wake him. Surely nothing had happened last night. Erik felt sure he would have known if Charles had taken advantage of him, even if he had been in a deep sleep. As he stood, he searched his body for anything unusual, any unexplained aches or pains. There was the usual soreness from riding, but nothing else. Erik was certain that he would be able to tell if he’d lost his virginity, even if he couldn’t remember the act.

He looked down at Charles, still asleep on the floor. He let out a squeaky yawn, scratched at his beard, rolled over, and went right back to sleep. Erik sighed with relief. No, he thought. Nothing happened. He was positive. They’d just slept a little too close.

Erik found Anna Marie outside, collecting eggs from the coop behind the house while the boys ran around with the sheep in the field beyond. She was dressed the way he remembered older omega mothers dressed when they were kids, from the clunky farm clogs to the enormous hat. Genoshan omegas traditionally wore hats with very large brims, in theory to provide shade to any baby strapped to the chest or back, but they were as much about fashion as anything else. Anna Marie's boys had not been small enough to carry that way in years, and as a widow she wasn't likely to have another any time soon. Still she wore the hat, just as their mothers had done. She was getting older, Erik thought. So was he.

“Good morning,” he greeted her in Genoshan.

“Good morning. Slept well, I see?” she smiled.

“Fine, thank you.”

“I fed your horses and gave them some water.”

“You are the best,” Erik told her. “Thank you.”

As he got closer, she pulled him into a hug, then quickly pushed him out to arm’s length.

“Did you let him mark you?” Anna Marie asked, looking him up and down.

Erik was taken aback. “No, of course not!”

“You stink of alpha.” She pulled him closer and scented him again. “I can definitely smell him on you.”

Erik took a whiff of his collar, and it did smell faintly of Charles. “Well, we shared a blanket last night. I’m sure that’s all it is.”

“You don’t seem too upset about that,” Anna Marie pointed out, looking entirely too pleased.

There was nothing to say to that. He shrugged.

“So, are you going to tell me what this is all about?” she asked with a wicked smile. “And who your handsome alpha friend is?”

“They found out I’m an omega, and there’s a land auction in Bitterroot on Tuesday. I have to get out there and make sure they don’t give away the land.”

Anna Marie sighed, and Erik flushed with annoyance at the pity on her face. “Oh, Erik. You knew this would happen eventually.”

“No, not if we’d kept local law. Not if they still thought I was an alpha.”

“Not if you married that Paige Guthrie when you had the chance.”

Erik groaned. “You sound like my mother.”

“Then you wouldn’t be in this mess. You and your alpha would have kept the land fair and square.”

“No, then Paige would have ownership of the land, and she would have put me in my place as the omega of the house. She would have had me sitting on my ass doing needlepoint and feeding an army of babies while she burned anything that said Lehnsherr on it and sold off everything else.”

Paige Guthrie was loathsome, and her only interest in Erik seemed to be in breaking him. The one time they’d met, she’d treated him like just another animal that came with the property. Now, four years and no more proposals later, suddenly his friends and family seemed to forget how horrible she was.

“Besides, you know I don’t like female alphas.” Erik added.

“How are you going to keep the land in the family if you don’t add an alpha to the family? What happens if they do auction your land?”

“Then I go back to the house and shoot anyone who steps on my property.”

Anna Marie rolled her eyes and chuckled.

“Do you think I’m joking?”

“Oh, no, I know you’re not! Just seems like marrying Paige would have been a bit easier. Wouldn’t have ended with you hanging from a rope after firing at the wrong person one too many times. And you didn’t answer the second part of my question.” She nodded towards the house, where Charles was still snoring on the floor. “Who’s your friend?”

Good question, Erik thought. “Charles Xavier. He’s an alpha from the Capital they tried to pair me with, but he’s been good to me and he wanted to go to the auction, so we’re riding together.” He shrugged as if it was no big deal. “It can’t hurt to have an alpha around in case we run into trouble.”

Anna Marie didn’t buy that explanation any more than Erik did. “So you let this Eastern alpha who you just met ride with you and share a blanket with you? And you trust him?”

“He has treated me well so far.”

“Not bad to look at, either?”

The way Anna Marie was smirking at him, it reminded Erik of when they were kids at school, passing notes and playing fortune-telling games about which alpha they’d bond with. He had to smile back.

Her only response was, “Mmm hmm.”

They went back into the house, where Anna Marie dug some clothes out of a cupboard quietly while Charles still slept. They were her husband’s old things, so they were styled for an alpha, but they fit Erik and were better for riding long distance than what remained of the omega suit. She then went into another cupboard and pulled out an omega-style sash for a belt, and pinned a woven brooch to his collar, which made Erik roll his eyes.

“Not necessary,” he whispered.

“Yes, it is,” she whispered back. “You’re not getting any younger.”

He groaned. “Thanks, Mom.” It all didn’t look too terrible, though, Erik thought as he glanced down at himself. The sash did keep the pants up, and the brooch was blue, at least, and not too feminine, and it kept the collar in place.

Charles was awake by the time they’d finished with the wardrobe. He stood, ran a hand over his hair and beard, and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. “Good morning,” he said in English.

“Good morning,” Erik and Anna Marie replied.

Charles glanced around, looking completely lost. “Umm….”

“Outhouse is that way,” Anna Marie told him, pointing. “There’s a rope strung up from the cabin to the outhouse, so you can find it on a dark night. Follow the rope.”

Charles nodded. “Right. Thank you.”

Once Charles was outside, Erik and Anna Marie prepared a breakfast of milk and boiled eggs. Anna Marie also insisted on making johnnycakes with butter and huckleberry preserves, and on cooking up some sausages, claiming that she didn’t often have guests for breakfast and she wouldn’t hear of anything less. She also made up the table with a cloth and waited until everyone was seated before she served.

“This is incredible,” Charles said as he dug into the johnnycakes. “Do you have food like this every morning?” He looked to the two boys, but neither of them understood English. They were only five and four years old, the eldest an alpha and the youngest an omega. They had not begun school yet. Erik wondered what their schooling would be like, now that they were residents of the Kingdom. They may not even be in the same school, if omega children were allowed an education at all.

Anna Marie answered for the boys. “No, usually one of these things, not all of them. And apples sometimes, when we have them.”

Charles smiled at the boys. “No wonder everyone in Genosha grows up so tall.”

“Why, don’t you folks in the Capital have food?” asked Anna Marie.

“Not like this,” Charles said through a mouthful. “Not many cows and chickens and farms in the Capital. Most people have porridge for breakfast, if they can get it. Or a piece of bread.”

“Growing boys need good food.” Anna Marie ruffled her son’s hair, and Charles watched with a smile. Erik wondered if Charles was just trying to be polite, showing interest in his hosts, or if he was actually curious about their lives.

“Is it just you and your boys here?” Charles asked.

“Yes. My husband is dead. Remy. He’s gone for two years now.”

“I’m sorry to hear that. The war?”

“No,” said Anna Marie. “Card game. Remy cheated. They shot him.”

“Oh.”

“It’s all right. We get by.”

Charles glanced at Erik, then back to Anna Marie. “Are you safe here by yourself? I mean, you don’t worry about people taking your land, like Erik worries?”

“Yes and no,” Anna Marie explained. “I’ve had some offers on the land, but since Junior is an alpha they can’t just take it. Technically the land is his.”

Charles looked back at the five year old boy and shook his head. “That’s absurd,” he muttered. “But you support yourself?”

Erik spoke for her. “Anna Marie is good at knitting and sewing. Best in the area.”

“Not best,” Anna Marie protested, but Erik knew the modesty was false. She was the best. “I make sweaters and quilts and other things like that and sell them at the market on Saturdays.”

“Oh!” Charles smiled. “I noticed the quilt was very beautiful.”

“Thank you very much,” said Anna Marie, looking pleased. “I been selling those for sixty rings, but I can get more than that in the fall and winter.” She nodded towards the flock of sheep behind the cabin. “I spin the wool and sell that, too. Fifteen rings a skein.”

“It’s Kingdom notes now,” Erik told her. “No more rings.”

Anna Marie and Charles both turned. “What?”

“Genoshan rings are not valid money any more, they told me. Notes only.”

Anna Marie stared at him. “But…” she started, then closed her mouth, frowning down at her plate.

Silence fell over the adults at the table.

Charles cleared his throat. “Perhaps we should be going.”

They finished their breakfasts and cleared the breakfast table, then put away the quilts and pillows still on the floor. Anna Marie also packed them a bag to take with them: lamb jerky for the road, a canteen of fresh water, matches, a length of rope. After some hesitation, she also went back and got one of the quilts, the less fine of the two, and stuffed that into the bag as well.

“I’m going to want this back, if it’s possible,” she told them.

“Of course,” said Charles. “I’ll return it myself. That is very gracious of you.”

“And one more thing,” she said, and went to fetch a small revolver. “Erik, you’ll need this, and I’ll need it back when things are settled.” She opened the cylinder to make sure it was loaded, then handed it over.

Charles appeared alarmed. “Is that necessary?”

“Yes,” said Erik. “Thank you.”

Erik went to greet the horses, which were right where they’d left them the night before. In the daylight, they looked even more pathetic than Erik remembered. They really were not meant for riding long distance, and especially not at any speed. It was a wonder they’d made it this far to begin with. “Are you going to be okay?” he asked the horse quietly as he readied it for the day. “Be strong for me. We have a long day ahead of us.”

Charles untied and mounted his horse without any apparent thought. He obviously didn’t know much about horses, and didn’t seem interested in knowing the horse any better than he knew a train car. They were lucky the horse was so docile or this could end badly.

“Be nice to the horse,” Erik told him with some concern, not quite sure what to say in this situation, and especially not in English. “You are sitting on it for days and making it work for you. The horse must like you.”

“Oh. Of course.” Charles ran a hand over the horse’s neck and mane. “I’m sorry. I am still learning.”

Erik mounted his horse as well. “It’s okay. You’ll learn soon enough.”

“Erik is a good teacher,” Anna Marie said with a wink. “Animals and children love him very much.”

Erik shook his head. “All right, that’s enough. Time to go.” He directed his horse out of the shelter and back towards the path away from Anna Marie’s. “Thank you again,” Erik told her in Genoshan. “I’ll be back with the quilt and the revolver next week.”

“After you and Charles bond, you mean?” Anna Marie teased him, also in Genoshan. “Don’t you bring that quilt back to me until you’re expecting!”

“Don’t hold your breath,” Erik told her.               

“If you have an omega, they can marry Junior and we can be in-laws.”

“If you see my mother at the market, please don’t tell her about any of this.”

“Oh, I definitely will!”

He shook his head. “Goodbye, Anna Marie!”

Charles turned and waved as they finally left. “Pubic hair!” he called to her. “Pubic hair a lot!”

“Fellatio!” she replied, and went back inside.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Paige Guthrie is a real character from the X-Men comics, however I don't know anything about her. That's just a great Western name. Had to use it. Forgive me, harder-core fans than I.


	4. Chapter 4

The day proved warmer than Erik had expected, and as they continued south, the remaining snowfall from earlier in the week gave way to muddy paths and birdsongs in the trees.

Erik looked over his shoulder to Charles. “You see?” he said. “I told you. Spring time. No more cold this year.”

Charles smiled back at him. “Yes. Quite pleasant.”

Something about the expression on Charles’ face made Erik suspect he was being mocked. He hadn’t said anything foolish, though. He was only talking about the weather. He looked back again. Charles was still looking at him with that smirk on his face. This time Erik quickly turned away from Charles and faced forward again. Erik’s face was burning pink; he could feel it.

Erik picked up the pace a little, just slightly, just enough to move things along a bit while he thought about what he might have said or done that would warrant Charles laughing at him behind his back. They had been having a nice ride together. Occasionally Erik would slow to point out things he thought might be of interest to Charles, or just to chat a little. They were getting on quite well. Charles even had Erik laughing out loud back near Kingbird Corner – Erik couldn’t remember what had set them off, but they’d laughed until tears rolled down Erik’s cheeks. So why, then, Charles would choose to mock him now, Erik had no idea.

He turned to look at Charles again. Charles smiled and tipped his hat.

Erik’s cheeks burned hotter still.

They rode straight through to Lolo Spring, a town with a population of approximately ten people. Aside from fresh water and a place to rest your horse, Lolo Spring wasn’t much more than a church, an inn, and a general store.

“Where’s the rest of it?” Charles asked when they arrived. He hopped off his horse with a clumsy grace that Erik found charming.

“Everyone stops here on their way to somewhere else. Not many people here all the time but everyone here some time,” Erik explained. “Best place to stop and rest.”

Erik glanced over his shoulder as he dismounted from his horse, and was startled to see Charles standing there at his side, his hand held out as if to help him down. He froze midway through his dismount, one leg in the air. No alpha had ever helped Erik off a horse before. In fact, Erik was fairly sure that the last person to help him off a horse was his father, when he was about eight years old. It took him a moment too long to hide his shock before accepting Charles’ hand as he climbed down.

“Thank you,” he said.

Charles appeared as flustered as Erik did. “I’m sorry, was that not right? I thought I was doing the gentlemanly thing. Does an alpha not offer a hand in Genosha?”

They did, just not to Erik.

“They do,” said Erik. “But I have been militia for some time and I forget my manners. Thank you.”

“Of course.”

They led the horses over to the trough for water, and then tied them up while they went to find something to eat.

“I wish I could treat you to lunch at the inn, but as you know, I don’t have any money on me,” said Charles. “Should we try the jerky that Anna Marie gave us?” He glanced around at the scenery. “I don’t suppose we might find some berries or something else to eat with it?”

Erik shook his head. “No, it’s okay. We can go to the store.”

At some point over the past few hours, something in their dynamic had shifted, and Erik hesitated before walking towards the general store. He had become used to being treated like a militia general. Now Charles was treating him like an omega. Was Charles courting him? He’d never been courted before. Not properly, anyway. Erik wasn’t sure he wanted to be courted. Yet he felt compelled to politeness, compelled to present himself properly to this man.

Apparently Charles was minding his manners as well, because he tipped his hat and gestured forward. “After you.”

Erik nodded in return and walked on, feeling a bit bewildered by his own behavior.

The bell rang its familiar chime as the door swung open at the general store, and Erik and Charles stepped into the dark, airless shop.

“Good afternoon,” called a girl’s voice from behind the counter.

“Good afternoon, Kitty,” Erik called back in Genoshan. “Are you in charge here now?”

Kitty’s head popped up from behind the counter. “Erik? Erik!” She ran out into the store, knocking a few apples off a cart as she rushed towards him. “Oh my gosh, you’re back! I can’t believe it!” The bonnet holding her thick brown hair off her face flew off and she threw her arms around him.

“It’s good to see you,” Erik said, surprised at the warm welcome. “Where are your parents?”

“Dad’s with the babies and Mom’s in the back. What are you doing here? Last I heard you were headed north against Frost’s battalion! What happened?” Kitty glanced over Erik’s shoulder, noticing Charles. “Oh!”

Erik switched back to English. “Kitty, this is Charles Xavier, the Duke of Greymalkin. Charles, this is Kitty Pryde. Her family owns the store and the inn.”

Kitty gave Charles a very sweet and very adolescent grammar school curtsy. “Nice to meet you.”

“A pleasure to meet you, too, Miss Pryde,” said Charles with a charming smile.

Kitty turned back to Erik with a blush. “He’s an alpha,” she whispered in Genoshan.

“Yes, he is.”

“And you’re traveling with him?”

In Genoshan culture, to ‘travel with’ an alpha was a bit of a double entendre, but Erik decided to ignore the subtext in Kitty’s question and try a new answer.

“Yes.”

She gave a little gasp and put a hand over her smile. “He’s very handsome,” she said. “And very polite.”

“Yes, he is,” Erik agreed.

Kitty grinned, then turned toward the back of the store and called out, “Ma! Erik Lehnsherr is here and he brought his new alpha!”

Fortunately for Erik, she yelled that in Genoshan, or he would have been mortified. It was embarrassing enough to hear himself imply that Charles was his mate, or a potential one, without Charles hearing it, too. He glanced at Charles just in case, but Charles showed no sign of understanding her words.

A creak and a slam echoed from the back of the store, then Mrs. Pryde stepped through the curtains behind the counter. Mrs. Pryde was an alpha, and had briefly served in the militia before returning to the store. Everyone agreed that Lolo Spring was an important outpost, and that the store needed her more than the militia did. When she saw Erik she sighed with relief, and Erik wondered what kinds of rumors might have been passing through Lolo. She then straightened her back and with her right hand, made a fist and held it against her heart: a Genoshan salute. Erik saluted her in return.

“General Lehnsherr,” she said. “You’re home?”

“Not exactly,” said Erik. “I am on my way to Bitterroot. I need to get there before the Kingdom tries to put Lehnsherr Hill up for auction.”

Mrs. Pryde’s eyes darted between Erik and Charles. “Oh!” she said, as though she’d just solved a math problem. “Oh, Erik, you’ve bonded? Thank goodness. I’d hate to see that land leave your family. Your mother is going to be so relieved.” She switched to English and addressed Charles. “Congratulations on your bonding. May you have many beautiful children!”

“No! No,” Erik interrupted. “No bonding. We travel together.”

Mrs. Pryde switched back to Genoshan. “No bond? Why the hell not?” She shot Charles an accusatory glare, and Charles, in turn shot Erik a look of confusion.

Erik ignored the question and the looks. “We need to get to Bitterroot as soon as possible. I was hoping you could re-open my family’s tab so that we can get some provisions. We still have a long way to go and all we have are a few bites of lamb jerky.”

Mrs. Pryde softened her expression. “Of course,” she said. “No tab necessary. You have fought bravely for Genosha. It’s the least I can do.”

“Thank you, ma’am.” Erik bowed his head. “I fully intend to pay you back once things are settled.”

Erik’s father told him once that the Lehnsherrs were Lolo General’s first customers and they’d be their last – because the store would shut down before they could afford to pay off their tab. Erik’s earliest memories of his father were in that store. Throughout his childhood, every other week Erik’s father would bring him along for a ride out to Lolo, and together they’d wander the store, make their purchases, spend some time with the Prydes and anyone else who wandered in. Then they’d have themselves some lunch, just the two of them, out back behind the store.

Now Erik was doing the same thing, but instead of his dad, Erik was sharing his lunch in Lolo with an Eastern duke. He’d chosen the exact same lunch as the one he always shared with his father, down to the single penny candy for each of them. He wanted to share the memories with Charles, tell him how his father loved the penny candy, or about the Lolo Harvest Festival, or about the first time an alpha boy kissed him (just a few feet away from where they sat, one late summer evening when Erik was fifteen, lit by bonfire and lightning bugs, serenaded by crickets). He didn’t know how, though. Not in English. And he didn’t know what that meant, that he wanted to share those moments with Charles. Nor did he know if Charles was interested in hearing those stories at all.

Life was strange, he thought.

**

Charles could feel Erik watching him eat. Erik had been watching him all day. No doubt they could have gotten to Lolo an hour earlier if Erik hadn’t kept stopping to turn and talk to Charles, or to point something out to him, or ask him a question. It was quite sweet, actually. Charles wondered if Erik remembered scenting him as they were dozing off the night before.

“They think very highly of you,” said Charles. “The ladies in the store, I mean.”

Erik dabbed at his mouth with a napkin – a very omega move, and not one he would have done a day earlier. “They knew my family. Pryde and Lehnsherr, two very old families in this area.”

“Do you have a big family?” Charles asked, then had a thought. "Wait, aren't there any other family members who could help you keep the land?"

"No,” Erik shook his head. “My father died when I was thirteen. I have a sister but she was married when she came of age and her husband moved them to the coast the next day. I have not seen her since.”

Charles froze. “That’s – I’m sorry,” he said.

“It’s okay. We send letters.” He shrugged. “Someday I see her again. But no more family. No uncles or cousins or other kin."

"And now it's just you and your mom?"

Erik nodded.

"Last of the Lehnsherrs," Charles said.

"Yes. Last of the Lehnsherrs. And if I have children, they will take the alpha's name. No more Lehnsherrs."

General Lehnsherr bearing children: now there was a terrifying thought. It made Charles smile.

“I am the only Lehnsherr with claim on the land,” said Erik. “No one else.”

“Then what will you do when we get to the auction?” Charles asked. “If there is no other alpha Lehnsherr – ”

“I own the land,” he interrupted. “It went to my mother when my father died. My mother signed it to me when I was eighteen. It is mine.” He sighed. “I don’t know. I will do anything I can. I will do something. I cannot allow this without a fight.”

Charles nodded. “I understand.”

“You do?”

“It is yours. You are going to fight for what is rightfully yours. I cannot fault you for that.”

Erik seemed surprised. “I thought in the east, no omegas own land?”

“They don’t,” said Charles. “But what’s yours is yours. I don’t see why they should take it from you.”

Again, Erik’s eyes dug into him, a stare so intense that Charles began to flush. “Thank you,” said Erik. He then pulled his focus off Charles and nervously fingered the penny candy sitting beside his plate. “And you?” he asked. “What are you going to do with your new land?”

Charles shrugged. “Put up a house. Live there.”

“Will you have livestock?”

The thought hadn’t occurred to him. “I don’t know.”

Erik’s eyes narrowed. “What did you do with your land in the Capital?”

“I didn’t have any land in the Capital,” said Charles. “I had an apartment that I rented.”

“Have you had a farm before?”

“No, never.”

Erik stared at him. “Why do you want land if you cannot farm?”

That was an excellent question. “Well, I was hoping for a copper mine, but I suppose I’ll take a farm if I can get one. I have to live somewhere,” he said with a self-deprecating smile.

Erik shook his head and sat back in his chair. “Copper mines,” he muttered. “This is all because of copper mines. That’s why they take Genosha, that’s why they fight and kill. That’s why they want my land. They think I have copper in my mountain.”

“Do you?”

“If Lehnsherr Hill has copper I would know it,” said Erik. “I tell them there is no copper. There’s trees and good farmland and fresh water. No copper. They take anyway.”

Erik was right: copper was why the Kingdom had annexed Genosha. Copper was the future. Copper was going to bring telephones and electricity to the Kingdom. And Charles’ father was the copper telephone pioneer.

“I’ll do whatever I can to help you keep your land,” Charles told Erik, feeling immensely guilty.

Erik nodded. “Thank you.” He then stood and told Charles, “Come.”

Charles followed Erik away from the store and down a path to a small creek, which trickled through a stand of trees and flowed out into the prairie towards the mountains beyond.

Erik handed Charles a candy. “Here,” he said. “One for you, one for me.”

“Oh, thank you.” Charles popped the candy in his mouth and looked around. “I can see why you like it here.”

“Yes,” said Erik. “It is a special place. For me. And other people. But for me, yes.”

“Why?”

Erik hesitated before speaking, confessing, “It reminds me of my father. We came here when I was a boy every two weeks.” He looked as though he wanted to say more, but he just shrugged, bashful. “It is a happy memory.”

Charles took Erik’s hand and stepped into his space. “Then thank you for sharing it with me.” He was close enough to Erik now that he could see the pulse in his neck, the nervous tremble in his breath. “Erik.” He leaned closer still. “May I?” When Erik looked startled, Charles clarified. “May I scent you?”

Erik’s breathy yes fluttered in Charles’ hair as he brushed his nose along the line of Erik’s throat. Charles breathed deeply and felt Erik do the same against his scalp. Erik’s scent was like a tonic to Charles – he didn’t sense it in his nose so much as felt it in his veins and in his lungs. It lifted every part of him. His posture improved and his hair stood on end. All over his skin he felt goosebumps, as though his skin was so thrilled at Erik’s scent that it wanted to jump for joy. His cock twitched with excitement, ready to stand at attention when called to duty. Charles could not imagine ever having a better scent response.

Erik must have responded similarly. He’d taken a curious sniff at first, followed by a much longer, deep breath at the hairline behind Charles’ ear. Charles could see the goosebumps on his skin as well, and his hands were trembling. When they separated enough to make eye contact, Erik’s pupils had engulfed the blue, giving him a wild, dark look, that Charles understood perfectly.

“Is it always like that?” Erik asked in a husky, nervous voice. “Scenting, I mean.”

“No,” Charles croaked. “No, I think this is… pretty rare.”

Erik leaned in again, the tip of his nose brushing against Charles’ temple, and this time Erik put his hand on Charles’ shoulder. Another barrier between them crumbled. Charles set his hands on Erik’s waist and breathed him in one more time before Erik backed away.

“We should get going,” Erik said quietly. “Long way to Bitterroot.”

Charles’ hand lingered at the small of Erik’s back as they returned up the path. Erik didn’t seem to mind.

Together they cleared up the mess they’d made over lunch, and then stepped back into the store to let the Prydes know they were heading off.

“Thank you again,” Erik called out as the door slammed behind them. “I’ll be back to see you again soon. Maybe next week, if I can.”

His voice echoed in the store. No response.

Charles sensed a shift in Erik’s posture. He was on alert now.

“Kitty?” Erik called out. He took two more steps, and then froze.

Across the store, two men in full Kingdom officer regimentals drew their guns.


End file.
